Pinterest Inspired, FitGirl Approved

A rainy Sunday combined with my newfound obsession of Pinterest pins of health, fitness, food, fashion, etc. inspirations led me to put my fascination into action.  Although I have had a pinterest account for a while, only recently have I been using it for some real inspiration.  I guess I got bored with the mundane food regiment I have become accustomed to and since I had the time today, I pinned a few others to try this week as well.

I selected a rather easy inspiration for my first attempt; roasted parmesan zucchini.  These are delicious and nutritious.  They are super easy (as promised by the creator) and would make a great side to any protein dish.  I made some slight improvisations in the recipe- per my taste, but that’s the fun of cooking – putting your own flair on the foods that inspire you. 

This recipe (my improvised one below) gets the fitgirl stamp of approval and will be made again – thank you Pinterest and rainy Sunday!

Ingredients:
Zucchini
cooking oil spray
salt/ pepper
garlic powder
basil/ oregano
whole foods 3 cheese grated blend

Directions:
put oven to 400 degrees – cooking time approx. 15 min or until cheese crisps
spray pan with cooking oil spray
Slice zucchini and place into large ziploc bag with more spray oil and all the spices & shake, shake, shake
place zucchini on baking sheet and sprinkle top with some of the grated cheese and voila

Bon Appetite!!

Original pin/ recipe: http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/03/parmesan-roasted-zucchini-recipe/

Running in the Rain

Don’t let a soggy or stormy forecast deter you from your plans….begrudgingly, I left my house at 5:45 this morning, and before I knew it, my 14 mile training run was complete.   By the end of my tumultuous trek, accompanied by my faithful running buddy, we both proclaimed how impressed we were with the sheer amazingness of “mind over matter”.  

As cheesy as this may sound, it is important to remember, you really can do the things that are important to you that you set your mind to.  For instance, as a part of my training for my marathon, I must complete a long run each week; however the group I train with does their long runs on Saturday mornings.  What is a girl to do when she hates running long distance on her own, but will be away all weekend? The answer, find another friend for support. I used another friend that is also in training for a marathon to run with me Friday before work.  Although the skies were ominous at my 5:30AM wake-up call, I honored my commitment and met my friend at Grant Statue to begin our course. 

We waited out one down pour and then set out in good spirits through some drizzle, hoping that was the last of the strong stuff. Twelve miles down, a little drizzle, and multiple laughs later (the one thing I can multi-task is talking and running at the same time, go figure) we both looked at each other like, really, now?  Two miles to go and the skies just opened on us. When I wanted to duck under a hut for shelter and quit, my buddy was able to keep me motivated and reminded me, by of course quoting Drake for maybe the one-hundred-millionth time, that “YOLO – you only live once” and we laughed and trudged our way through what seemed like endless pools of puddles and rain stronger than any shower ever should be, finishing feeling very fulfilled. 

Moral of this story: You can do what you set your mind to do, even if it rains.  Find your own way to get the things you want in your life accomplished and sometimes when you have to work harder for it, it somehow seems more rewarding.

Below – what awesomeness and running in the rain looks like in the aftermath (my shirt dry is a light green color) although, the picture does not do justice to just how soaked we really were:

And the yummy breakfast I rewarded myself with after (Pre-photo I was too hungry and already ate the other ½ of my bagel, but it’s an asparagus, ham & cheese omelet)

Rock a Six-Pack

Your abdominals are the core of your body.  As a function, they support and stabilize your spine, but in reality we all obsess over how they look.  There are a few keys to sporting the perfect six pack abs: Eating right so that you don’t have any extra fat hiding your muscle below, perform exercises that strengthen your muscles, and mix- up your routine between cardio and weight training.  Below is a great abs workout that I have refined over the years – this one does not involve any equipment just your body.

At the risk of appearing a bit narcissistic (posting a picture of my abs) I am doing so to validate that this abdominals work out actually works.

I complete this routine about 3-4 times a week following some sort of cardio.  As a bonus, while performing your cardio, think about a string going from the bottom of your center that is pulling you upright through the center of your head.  This will keep your core engaged and elongate your abs.  I wish I had the sound effect of what my old ballet teacher used to make for that explanation of lifting from your core – she had the best “slurp” zipped-up sound for it.

move #1: The crunch

The slow: Lie on your back, knees up, hands behind your heads and keep your elbows out. Concentrate on sucking in your stomach to the floor.  As you lift your head up, you should be breathing out and when you lower down even slower, break in thinking about sucking in your abs to the floor still the whole time. Do 20 like this.
The fast: same motion as above, just faster and complete 100

move #2: The Butterfly crunch

Open your legs into a butterfly position, lying on your back again, and hands behind your head.  Slowly complete a crunch as described above and remembering not to relax between reps.  Again, you should aim to do about 20 like this.

move #3: Revers Tabletop Crunch

I do these slowly as well.  It is the same motion as the crunches above – making sure you keep thinking about your belly button being pulled like a magnet to the floor. You should start to feel your abs burning at this point. Another 20 reps here.

move #4: Plank + leg extensions

Basic plank is a great way to break up your crunches and add the extra scorch to your routine.  It is a great exercise for your core and stabilizers and will be very effective in helping to define your 6-pack. Start on your stomach, resting on your forearms and palms flat on the floor.  Push off onto your tip toes and elbows (as shown above). Remember it is imperative in this position to maintain the integrity of your back by tilting your pelvis and contracting your abdominals to prevent your bum from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle.

This is where you can mix it up and have a little fun.  Either do a basic plank and hold for anywhere from 45 – 90 seconds or what I like to do is a plank for 30 seconds and then raise one leg as shown above for 30 seconds and alternate to lift the other and then come down for rest.

move #5: Tabletop Alternate Leg drop

Start in a tabletop on your back and lift your shoulders/ head up to hold the crunch position. Slowly, drop one leg to the ground barely letting your toes touch and bring it back up, alternate and drop your other leg.  This is a slow motion – not quick – you will feel the burn… about 20 alternations. Concentrate on keeping your core engaged and the stable leg in the same position during this exercise.

Turn over – stretch out your abs and repeat if you can…. Good luck! :)